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Serge Lourie

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Serge Lourie
Born
Alexander Serge Lourie

(1946-02-22)22 February 1946
London, England
Died10 September 2024(2024-09-10)(aged 78)
London, England
Political partyLabour(until 1981)
SDP(1981–88)
Liberal Democrats(since 1988)
SpouseJulia

Alexander Serge LourieCF(22 February 1946 – 10 September 2024[1]) was a formerLeaderof theLondon Borough of Richmond upon Thames,[2]where he was a local governmentcouncillorfrom 1982 to 2010.[2]He was Chairman of the United Kingdom Housing Trust,[3]Kingston HospitalNHS Trust[4]andSanctuary HousingAssociation.[5]He had also been the General Secretary ofHelp the Aged[6]and a board member of theLondon Pensions Fund Authority[7][8]and theNotting Hill Housing Trust.

Early life and education

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Lourie was born on 22 February 1946. He was of Russian extraction and was the great-grandson ofLev Philippovitch Wolkenstein.His mother was Anna Rootchenko.[9]He was educated atSt Paul's School, London[10]andWorcester College, Oxford[11](1965–68), graduating from theUniversity of Oxfordwith a degree inPhilosophy, Politics and Economics.[12]

Career

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Lourie qualified as achartered accountantwith Cooper Brothers in 1971 (nowPricewaterhouseCoopers).[13]He was aLabour Partymember ofWestminster City Council(1971–74)[14]and theGreater London Councilmember forHornchurch(1973–77)[15]where he was chair of scrutiny and vice-chair of finance.

He was elected as anSDP–Liberal Alliancecouncillor forKewonRichmond upon Thames London Borough Councilin 1982, becoming aLiberal Democratfollowing the merger of theSocial Democratic Party(SDP) and theLiberal Partyin 1988. In1990,he was re-elected as a Liberal Democrat.[2]Lourie spent fourteen years as Leader, and also served as Deputy Leader and Leader of the Opposition. He lost his seat in2010.

In 1989 he was awarded a fellowship by theWinston Churchill Memorial Trust,studying urban renewal and housing in France and the United States.[16]From 1990 and 1994 he chaired the London Boroughs Grants Committee, awarding grants of around £29m to thevoluntary sectorin Greater London.[17]He was a board member of theLondon Tourist Boardwhere he deputised for the chairman, SirJohn Egan.He chaired the Independent Panel on members' remuneration for theAssociation of Police Authorities[18]and was a member of theMetropolitan PoliceCommittee.[19]

He was a board member ofRichmond Charities[20]and ofKew Community Trust[21]as well as chairingPoems in the Waiting Room,[22]a British charity providing poetry cards todoctors' waiting rooms inEngland and Wales.He was a patron ofCultural Co-operation,a charity that ran world music festivals.

In 2015, he was appointed Chairman of the Charity Appeal Committee ofKingston Hospitalto raise £750,000 to improve the treatment of patients withdementia.[23]

Personal life

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He lived inKew,Greater London and was married with two children.[12]He was a regular runner, who completed five marathons, and ran frequently in theRichmond Parkparkrun.[9][1]

References

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  1. ^ab"Richmond parkrun 827 – 14th September 2024 CARPE DIEM".Richmondparkrun.15 September 2024.Retrieved15 September2024.
  2. ^abcWickham, Chris (14 May 2010)."Ex-Richmond Council leader Serge Lourie loses seat after 28 years".Richmond and Twickenham Times.Retrieved1 April2014.
  3. ^UKHT Annual Report 1987.United Kingdom Housing Trust.
  4. ^Annual Report 31 March 2001.Kingston Hospital NHS Trust.
  5. ^Annual Reports 1989–92.Sanctuary Housing Association.
  6. ^Annual reports 1976 and 1977.Help the Aged.
  7. ^"London Pension Fund Authority – new appointments to Board".Local Government Chronicle.15 July 1998.Retrieved1 April2014.
  8. ^"Livingstone revamps Pension Fund Board".Local Government Chronicle.7 July 2001.Retrieved2 April2014.
  9. ^ab"Ex council leader to run the Virgin Money London Marathon for Alzheimer's Research UK".Alzheimer's Research UK.30 March 2016.Retrieved27 June2017.
  10. ^Old Pauline Club Directory 2010.
  11. ^Bate, Jonathan & Goodman, Jessica (2014).Worcester: Portrait of an Oxford College.Third Millennium Information. p. 216.ISBN1906507724.
  12. ^abEarly, Catherine (9 March 2007)."Parking charge pioneer".Planning Resource.Haymarket Media Group Ltd.Retrieved1 April2014.
  13. ^PriceWaterhouseCoopers Alumni London Directory.PriceWaterhouseCoopers.p. 147.
  14. ^"All members of Westminster City Council".Westminster City Council Election Results.www.election.demon.co.uk.Retrieved2 April2014.
  15. ^GLC Minutes 1976.Greater London Council.
  16. ^"Fellow's profile: Serge Lourie:Urban renewal and housing".Churchill Fellowship.Retrieved15 September2024.
  17. ^Minutes 1990–1994.London Boroughs Grants Scheme.
  18. ^Lourie, Serge (October 2001).Report of the Independent Panel on Police Authority Members' Allowances.Association of Police Authorities.p. 3.
  19. ^"Home Secretary announces new members of Metropolitan Police Committee"(Press release).Central Office of Information.29 July 1998.Retrieved13 March2018.
  20. ^"Trustees".Richmond Charities.Retrieved15 September2024.
  21. ^"Kew Community Trust".Companies in the UK.
  22. ^"Contact us".Poems in the Waiting Room.
  23. ^Sharman, Jon (14 April 2015)."Kingston Hospital to launch £750,000 fundraising appeal to improve dementia patients' stay".Surrey Comet.Retrieved7 May2016.
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